Monday, December 9, 2013

Brrrr it is cold out but it is warm in the school and brains are at work!
In visiting classrooms I have had multiple students share that they are reading the "best"
book they have ever read and can state several reasons for this. They are articulating
what characters are in the story and how the plots are developing. One important fact is that
they are all reading because they want to and are excited to continue to find out what is
happening in the book and want to share their thoughts about the story.
What great news on our cold day here.

Friday, August 2, 2013

We are less than 2 weeks to the start of our new school year. The rooms are almost all cleaned, the halls look shiny and clean, supplies are arriving, families are turning in the last of their paperwork for enrollment and teachers report for work next week. We are so excited to start learning again with our students!

IF you have not turned in the necessary paperwork for enrollment please do so ASAP.
Your student will not receive a class assignment if you've not turned in your paperwork prior
to August 12th. Please call the school at 413-4900 with any questions.

SEE EVERYONE ON THE 12th!
It's going to be a fabulous year of learning!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Extended Summer Learning Going Strong!

We are having FUN in the SUN this summer at West Englewood. This is our theme for our extended summer learning. We have lots of reading, writing and math fun occurring. New books have arrived and the students attending XLT are getting first look at these new reads. I have heard that there are some fabulous stories being read!

Extended summer learning is great for many reasons - socially and academically. Students in Japan go to school around 240 days a year, most schools in the United States go to school for 175-180 days. This extended learning time allows students to keep their "head in the game" and continue learning.
We are excited so many of our West Englewood students and their families take advantage of this extended time.

If your child is not attending XLT you can help ensure the summer learning loss is kept to a minimum by having your child read - a minimum of 30 mins a day, write in a summer activity log daily and engage your child in conversation. Trips to the local library, area attractions, clubs, etc. keep the learning growing also. Keeping students engaged in learning during the summer is the best thing a family can do.

Wishing you FUN in the SUN this summer with some learning fun for your family!

Thursday, May 2, 2013

We have done many screenings for our preschool at West Englewood and have some more to go. However, we also have another opportunity for peer models at our Pleasant Valley location. Please read below if interested.

North Kansas City School District Early Childhood Special Education Preschool is now accepting applications for Peer Models for the 2013-2014 school year. ECSE Peer Models attend preschool Monday – Thursday, 3 hours per day. We offer a language rich environment where students are able to participate in a structured preschool day, including groups facilitated by our certified teachers and licensed/certified therapists. Preschool openings at the Early Childhood Education Center in Pleasant Valley with limited additional openings at both Maplewood Elementary and Fox Hill Elementary. Applicants must be 3 - 5 years of age. Call 413-5684 for additional information or to schedule a screen. Consider letting your child come learn and play with us!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

We have two days of whole class testing completed and the students are doing well. Reports from students are that they know what is being tested and they feel good about their answers. As a staff we know they can do great things and are encouraged to hear the students voice this also.

Today - Thursday - is Take Your Child to Work Day so there will be no regular testing. Some makeup testing may occur as needed.

Please continue to join us in encouraging students to do their best on the test! Super Powers are at work!

Monday, April 22, 2013

It's time for the MAP test in grades 3-5. We held two assemblies today to motivate the students and celebrate their hard work of increasing learning this year. Our morning assembly was for all grades and featured the Eagle Singers and grade 5 putting on a musical about testing. They did a fabulous job, singing, dancing, and acting. The afternoon assembly was for 3rd-5th grades with a skit about testing put-on by the staff. Once again all the kids displayed that they are ready for the test by answering correctly the MAP preparedness questions.

All students know they should be getting a good nights rest, eating a healthy breakfast, being on time to school, and present the entire test, to be assured they are prepared to do their best. We know they will do a fabulous job of taking the tests these next two weeks. We will begin our day each day with a motivating MAP parade to get the body and brain ready for the tests.

Remember we all have super powers and can use them to do our best on the MAP.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Wow! Last evening our Eagles displayed such talent at our Annual West Englewood Talent Show. We moved to Oak Park High School to ensure all our families had room to view our talented kiddos and it worked out really well. It was a fun evening filled with laughter, dancing, singing, and such talent. Thanks to the team at West Englewood that put this all together, to the families that attended last night and to our fabulous students that shared their talents last night with the audience.

This next week we will have the opportunity to see the talent in academics our Eagles have in grades 3-5 as we begin MAP testing on Tuesday. We will be using our POWERS to succeed at the MAP test. Monday is Super Hero day so come to school in your super hero attire.